Richard Lloyd Ruby was an American racecar driver who raced in the USAC Championship Car series for 20 years, achieving 7 victories and 88 top-ten finishes.
15 Facts About Lloyd Ruby
1.
2.
Lloyd Ruby had success in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona twice, the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1966 World Sportscar Championship.
3.
Lloyd Ruby had two endurance racing victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona, both times partnering with Ken Miles.
4.
Lloyd Ruby was scheduled to drive in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, however he was forced to withdraw due to spinal injuries suffered in a plane crash.
5.
Lloyd Ruby played a key role in Ford Motor Company's GT40 program in the mid-1960s.
6.
Lloyd Ruby raced in the 1961 United States Grand Prix.
7.
Lloyd Ruby's biography, written by Ted Buss in 2000, was titled, Lloyd Ruby: The Greatest Driver Never to Win the Indy 500.
8.
Lloyd Ruby led the race in five different years, for a total of 126 laps his best finish at Indianapolis was third, in 1964.
9.
The refueling nozzle was still engaged in the car's left saddle tank, and as Lloyd Ruby dropped the clutch, the car lurched forward.
10.
Lloyd Ruby died in 2009 at the age of 81 in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.
11.
Lloyd Ruby's racing career was honored with the Bruton Smith Legends Award at the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame in Fort Worth in 2005.
12.
Lloyd Ruby was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.
13.
Lloyd Ruby was named co-recipient of the Louis Meyer Award along with Helio Castroneves at the induction ceremony and special recognition dinner in Indianapolis.
14.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson joined racing greats Johnny Rutherford, Parnelli Jones and Al and Bobby Unser in Wichita Falls when the Lloyd Ruby Overpass was named in honor of their racing friend.
15.
Lloyd Ruby participated in two World Championship races: the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the 1961 United States Grand Prix.